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reprint, and the wisdom contained is timely today. Others can be found
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may not appear weekly.

FLY FISH FOR SPECS

Jan 14, 2013

By: Robert Stouff

If there is a grand pappy of saltwater fly fishing in Louisiana, it's likely Pete Cooper Jr.

From marsh to bay to offshore depths, Pete has cornered enough species and garnered enough spots on Louisiana's fly fishing records list to earn accolades aplenty. His accomplishments are the fruits of a long association with the divine coastal environs of the Bayou State.

"The first redfish I caught on a fly in Louisiana waters was in June 1971," he is quoted in an article for Louisiana Life magazine I wrote in 2009. "I was bass fishing from a pirogue in a canal southwest of Venice when it stuck its tail out of the water not far from me. I doubted the fly –– a size 4 short-tailed popper –– would inspire the fish, but I made a cast at it anyway. The red ate the fly like an alligator eating a blackbird, and some 20 minutes later I almost capsized my pirogue while I was netting it. That one was 33 inches long!"

Some forty years later, Pete Cooper's still fishing the salts, and writing. His books Fly Fishing the Louisiana Coast and Redfish are staples among fly anglers and convention fishermen alike, and more than 600 articles have cemented him in the world of fishing's scribes

Now Cooper tackles the other sought-after prize in Louisiana's waters, the spotted sea trout, in his new work, "Fly Fish for Specks." Just a glance at the table of contents shows what readers can learn from this volume, with chapters on the basics, structure, night fishing, rivers, surf fishing, seasonal strategies, tips for the biggest specks, flies and more.

But this isn't just another dry technical manual. Pete Cooper's got soul. Within these informative pages are also anecdotes and even when Pete's relaying specific and detailed instructions on presentation and such, good-natured humor and wit shine through. Here's a bit about how he got bit with this notion, back then considered a bit wacky, of fly fishing for specks:

"However, at about the same time that the revelation of the correlation arose, it suddenly dawned on me that because of my rather intense relationship with redfish, I had for far too many years been missing out on the pure fun of fly fishing for specks. And I must avow that since then I've been making every effort to make up for that omission in my earlier years! Been doing pretty good at it, too, thank you very much, even since Katrina displaced me from my beloved and speck-filled waters around the lower Mississippi River Delta. So, I now proclaim that if there was ever a saltwater fish that could have been created especially for fly fishermen – aggressive, plentiful, fun to catch, and good-tasting, it's the speck. Try 'em thusly, and I sincerely doubt you will disagree!"

The book is illustrated with photos from the author's long association with these delectable denizens off Louisiana's coast.

"Fly Fish for Specks" is available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle. It's $19.95 in print and $4.99 as a Kindle Book.